Joana Galego, Dessert, 2021
Watercolour on paper, 22 x 29cm
Portugese-born artist Joana Galego’s images are informed by – in her words – ‘memories and feelings rather than actual events’. Firmly rooted in drawing, her paintings and works on paper are characterised by a vibrant palette and a visual language partly inspired by historical artists including Piero de la Francesca and Paul Gaugin.
Joana uses layering and changes of perspective to create multiple narratives within her compositions, which range from intimate to grand in scale. Figures – both adult and childlike – are seen hiding, embracing, resting and playing together in a range of dreamlike scenarios. However, a sense of stillness prevails, despite the activities of the artist’s subjects.
This unframed watercolour painting combines memories of dining and bathing in a rich terracotta and sea-blue palette. The pairs of figures interacting in various ways are a recurring motif in the artist’s work; they pay attention to one another as well as looking at the viewer, to draw us in. At the top of the page, esoterically, a traditional Portuguese Christmas cake known as Bolo Rei is depicted. Joana says; ‘My drawings are, most of the time, an exploration of how it feels to try to connect with others in meaningful ways. I'm interested in ambiguity and hesitation, on what can be misremembered and the consequences of misunderstandings.’
Joana graduated from the University of Lisbon in 2016 and subsequently moved to London to attend the Royal Drawing School between 2016 and 2017. Her work has been exhibited in numerous group shows in London and Portugal including the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize for which she was shortlisted in 2019. Solo exhibitions include ‘Spring and All’ at the Royal Drawing School, London, in 2019, and ‘o lugar indeciso’, Museu das Artes de Sintra, Portugal, 2016. Joana has been awarded prizes including The Sir Denis Mahon Award from the Royal Drawing School (2017). She has undertaken artistic residencies in the USA and Portugal and her work is held in numerous private collections. She currently lives and works in south east London.
Watercolour on paper, 22 x 29cm
Portugese-born artist Joana Galego’s images are informed by – in her words – ‘memories and feelings rather than actual events’. Firmly rooted in drawing, her paintings and works on paper are characterised by a vibrant palette and a visual language partly inspired by historical artists including Piero de la Francesca and Paul Gaugin.
Joana uses layering and changes of perspective to create multiple narratives within her compositions, which range from intimate to grand in scale. Figures – both adult and childlike – are seen hiding, embracing, resting and playing together in a range of dreamlike scenarios. However, a sense of stillness prevails, despite the activities of the artist’s subjects.
This unframed watercolour painting combines memories of dining and bathing in a rich terracotta and sea-blue palette. The pairs of figures interacting in various ways are a recurring motif in the artist’s work; they pay attention to one another as well as looking at the viewer, to draw us in. At the top of the page, esoterically, a traditional Portuguese Christmas cake known as Bolo Rei is depicted. Joana says; ‘My drawings are, most of the time, an exploration of how it feels to try to connect with others in meaningful ways. I'm interested in ambiguity and hesitation, on what can be misremembered and the consequences of misunderstandings.’
Joana graduated from the University of Lisbon in 2016 and subsequently moved to London to attend the Royal Drawing School between 2016 and 2017. Her work has been exhibited in numerous group shows in London and Portugal including the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize for which she was shortlisted in 2019. Solo exhibitions include ‘Spring and All’ at the Royal Drawing School, London, in 2019, and ‘o lugar indeciso’, Museu das Artes de Sintra, Portugal, 2016. Joana has been awarded prizes including The Sir Denis Mahon Award from the Royal Drawing School (2017). She has undertaken artistic residencies in the USA and Portugal and her work is held in numerous private collections. She currently lives and works in south east London.
Watercolour on paper, 22 x 29cm
Portugese-born artist Joana Galego’s images are informed by – in her words – ‘memories and feelings rather than actual events’. Firmly rooted in drawing, her paintings and works on paper are characterised by a vibrant palette and a visual language partly inspired by historical artists including Piero de la Francesca and Paul Gaugin.
Joana uses layering and changes of perspective to create multiple narratives within her compositions, which range from intimate to grand in scale. Figures – both adult and childlike – are seen hiding, embracing, resting and playing together in a range of dreamlike scenarios. However, a sense of stillness prevails, despite the activities of the artist’s subjects.
This unframed watercolour painting combines memories of dining and bathing in a rich terracotta and sea-blue palette. The pairs of figures interacting in various ways are a recurring motif in the artist’s work; they pay attention to one another as well as looking at the viewer, to draw us in. At the top of the page, esoterically, a traditional Portuguese Christmas cake known as Bolo Rei is depicted. Joana says; ‘My drawings are, most of the time, an exploration of how it feels to try to connect with others in meaningful ways. I'm interested in ambiguity and hesitation, on what can be misremembered and the consequences of misunderstandings.’
Joana graduated from the University of Lisbon in 2016 and subsequently moved to London to attend the Royal Drawing School between 2016 and 2017. Her work has been exhibited in numerous group shows in London and Portugal including the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize for which she was shortlisted in 2019. Solo exhibitions include ‘Spring and All’ at the Royal Drawing School, London, in 2019, and ‘o lugar indeciso’, Museu das Artes de Sintra, Portugal, 2016. Joana has been awarded prizes including The Sir Denis Mahon Award from the Royal Drawing School (2017). She has undertaken artistic residencies in the USA and Portugal and her work is held in numerous private collections. She currently lives and works in south east London.
